Mice Aren't Really Cute

About 11 years ago, we had a bit of a mouse problem. They seemed to be coming in from somewhere in the kitchen, and we had an exterminator come up, and for $400 he did a thermal scan of the house, and plugged up some holes with steel wool. 

Daphne the cat turned out to be a great mouser, and presented us with her catches. Sometimes we would find them under the bed, ugh.

But she ridded the house of them, and was quite proud of herself for doing that. You could tell how happy she was by the expression on her face.

So here we are again with a mouse problem, but this time they are in the basement. How are they getting in? I have no idea. I did put some steel wool outside under the back door and the side of the new porch to plug up some openings, so hopefully that will help.

My wife says she found droppings on the stove, but I haven't. You would figure with 3 cats, they would have caught some, but that hasn't happened yet.

I have set numerous glue traps in the basement, and they have done their job. I won't go into detail what I have done afterwards.

I just ordered some reusable traps and bait from Amazon, and am going out shortly to get more glue traps. The traps will go outside, and also inside, most likely in the bottom kitchen cabinets.

While I love Mickey Mouse, I hate these little mice that are invading the house.

Student Loans Are Legal Theft

When I was in college all those years ago, my student loan was about $10,000 which I had to pay off in 10 years, and the interest rate wasn't crazy high. I made that monthly payment and did the dance of joy when it was finally over.

These days, the interest rates are crazy, and I call it legal theft because of that. The students that are in debt over $100,000 because they went to medical or law school are working their butts off just to survive, and that debt will follow them for many, many years.

There's a very simple solution to this, and it isn't debt forgiveness by the government.

How about instead of having interest rates that are over 8% and compounding daily, make them low interest loans at around 2% that doesn't compound daily?

That makes paying off the loans much easier, and can end the predatory lending in that section of the banking industry.

My older daughter didn't take out a large loan, but the interest rate is making it seem like she did. 

This is the spot where the government should make changes. Forget about loan forgiveness that will never happen, just pass a law that has a ceiling for interest rates on student loans. 

A simple solution to a ridiculous problem.

 

Going To The Gym

 When I went on Medicare in 2023, (yeah, I'm that old) one of the benefits was a free gym membership through Silver & Fit, so I chose a gym local to me, that my daughter worked at the time.

She put my membership under my non de plume, and instructed me not to tell anyone there that I was her dad. Okay, fine. The only one that knew was the trainer she set me up with for a free introductory session.

When she left a couple of months after that, I let the cat out of the bag and told a couple of other people.

I am a person of habit, and if I keep doing something, I'll stick with it. A former manager once told me that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, and in this case it is true.

My days off for many years were Tuesday and Friday, so I made it a point to go to the gym on those days, and after a while, I started to go on Sunday as well. I like to get there around 11 AM, and work out for at least an hour. I'll get on the stationary bike for 20-30 minutes, and then go over to the weight machines.

I am not 25 anymore, (though my mind thinks I am) so I don't go crazy with the weights. Most machines I'll set to 45-60 pounds, and do 3 sets of 20 reps. There are a couple of machines I can't use, because of what is called "frozen shoulder." Both were affected years ago after my back surgery when I used a walker, then a cane. While I didn't have pain when I was using them, it was soon after that I gave them up that the pain happened.

Physical therapy helped, but I never fully recovered, and my right shoulder will never be at full strength.

About 2 years ago, I got my second shingles shot in my left shoulder, and boy did it hurt! That caused frozen shoulder, and yet more PT. 

So I have to stay away from several machines simply because they hurt to much. There are plenty of machines that I can use and an hour is enough time to get a full workout in.

One thing I have noticed at the gym is that people really don't talk to each other. There are friends working out together, but there's no conversations going on between strangers.

I was hoping to make a friend or two, and find a work out buddy. Unfortunately that hasn't happened, and I don't see it happening anytime soon.

No matter what, I've enjoyed my time there, and hope to keep it going.

The Drivers Wave

 How many times when we're driving do we see someone trying to make a turn into your lane from a street, a gas station, bank, whatever, and you are stopped and wave to them to go in front of you.

Do you expect a thank you wave in return? I certainly do, and when I get it, I wave back. When I don't get it, I say the word "dumbass" out loud in their direction. These days, giving someone the finger or yelling out the window is not the smart thing to do. You never know if that other driver is going to get mad at you and try to do something really stupid.

The wave is a show of courtesy, acknowledging that you did something nice. You also home that since you did something nice, the same thing will happen to you.

You want to get out of the gas station, and the light ahead is red. Don't you want someone to be nice to you and let you in? Do you silently curse the "idiot" that looked right at you and didn't let you go? I'll say "dumbass" again. 

My favorite is when you're trying to get on the highway, and those entrance lanes are fairly short. Your signal is on, and you're running out of roadway, hoping that someone will slow down enough to let you in, or move into the other lane so you can safely enter.

I'll try to move over as opposed to slowing down so another car can get in front of me. That's because the entering car is going slower than me, and then traffic behind me is going to have to slow down as well. With these moves, there's no wave involved.

A while back, as I was in the right lane of a three lane main road, I heard a honk to my left. If was a guy about my age, motioning for me to lower my window. As I did, he leaned over and said, "Have a blessed and wonderful day." I said thank you, and have a great day yourself. Why did he choose me? Was it because it because I was bopping my head to music in the car, or he felt I needed to hear it. Either way, I appreciated it. I don't think I would that, simply because you never know what kind of reaction you're going to get. 

In closing, it doesn't cost anything to give the wave and to be courteous. Try it sometime, you'll be happier for it.

Wither Customer Service?

 What the heck is going on with customer service these days? Is that companies are just hiring bad people, or good people are being little to no training in dealing with customers?

How about good training, but bad attitudes from burnout? Or bad training to good people that also get burnt out?

I just had an experience with a car dealers service center that left a bad taste in my mouth. Everything was good the first time around, almost. I had left a voice mail for the service manager, who never called me back. I finally got a hold of the assistant service manager who apologized, and said his boss was in the garage all day working on cars. Really? He doesn't make time to talk to customers?

So the assistant talked to me, and we made an appointment to bring in the car. The reason I was bringing it in to this dealership was because our regular car dealership claimed they wouldn't be able to diagnose the problem as their technicians were not as experienced. Okay, I can deal with that.

The new service center said the "after market" remote start was causing the problem of the alarm going off at random times, mostly at night. I told them it was installed by the dealer, so why was it considered after market?

Either way, they took it out, and installed some other parts. $757 later, the problem was solved, almost. Why almost do you say? Because sometimes the car wouldn't start. Ugh.

I made yet another appointment, and needed a loaner car. My daughter figured out what was wrong, and how to get around it. As it turns out, the button on the drivers side door handle wasn't working, and either were the buttons on the inside. I left a message for the assistant service manager, and he never called me back, so I didn't bring the car in. 

Hopefully our original dealer can fix it, and if not, I'll ask our regular mechanic.

The point here is why can't businesses deal with their customers in a respectful manner? If you get a voice mail, it should be returned as soon as possible. It's a turn off to NEVER return the phone call, and a great way to lose customers.

In my sales and management career over the years, I always endeavored to give the best service I possibly could each and every time, no matter how nice or annoying the customer may be. 

So I am very sensitive to the type of service I get, be it in a retail store, restaurant, doctors office or a service establishment. It can range from the absolutely fabulous to the downright awful, and I am not afraid to leave true reviews on Google Maps. The good ones usually get a nice reply, while the bad ones don't get a reply at all. Those are the ones that should be addressed first, addressing the problem and asking what could be done to make it right.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox now.

Go Vote!

 

I am a life long liberal Democrat, and have never voted for Republican, nor do I intend to in the future. So if you are a supporter of 45, just skip this and move on.

The Presidential Election is in a few weeks, so here are a few of my thoughts.

I have never been a fan of the orange thing, even when " The Apprentice" was on. He was a bombastic, slimy game show host, and we all know the game was rigged so whoever was his "favorite" would win. 

When Billy Bush interviewed him in 2016 right before the election, and he made a comment about "pussy grabbing," I truly thought that combined with "I could murder someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and get away with it" would cost him the election. 

Are Americans that stupid that they can "forgive" statements like that? How can any woman in her right mind vote for this person who loaded the Supreme Court with conservatives so Roe vs. Wade could be overturned? The Republicans are coming for your rights to have in-vitro fertilization, and severely limiting abortion rights. 

It should not be up to a bunch of old white guys in Congress to determine what a woman can or cannot do with their bodies. 

45 took away tax deductions for the middle class, limiting it to $10K, versus no limit. Then he gives massive tax breaks to corporations and high wealth individuals.

There is something wrong with that thinking. I truly believe that the wealthy should pay their fair share, and the middle and lower classes should get all their deductions back, and have lower tax brackets.

This "man," and I truly use that word loosely, has 34 federal guilty judgements, and owes millions of dollars to a woman that he was convicted of raping years ago. 

Is this the person we truly want to be our president for the next 4 years? I am afraid of what he will do to our Constitution, along with letting foreign dictators do to their neighbors. Do you really think he will let us defend Ukraine against Russia anymore? I doubt it. He will stop any support with weapons and money, and let Putin just roll in and take over. But of course it won't stop there.

How many lies and made up stories do we have to listen to over and over before realizing this person is nothing but a con man and grifter?

While Kamala Harris may not have a stellar record as vice president, keep in mind that most VP's over the years are merely figureheads, with no real power. Do you think that 45 gave Mike Pence any real power? Heck no, there was barely any respect for the man. JD Vance has proven himself a true idiot, and that's just another reason not to vote for the Republicans this year. Imagine him as president if something happens to 45?

My wife has a co-worker who has stated that if Ms. Harris wins, she's moving to Israel. Great, don't let the door hit you on the way out. 

We need the Democrats to take back the House, and increase their lead in the Senate as well, to roll back all the misdeeds that 45 and the Rethuglicans have done in the last few years.

Go Vote!

Converting Audio Tapes To Digital Files

 When I first started recording radio stations back in 1976, I used cassettes and reel to reel tapes, never thinking far into the future of what I would do with all those tapes. Many times I would edit the music out of them, and keep just the DJ parts. This was done to save money, so I could reuse the the tapes, not thinking I was often editing out history. I made compilations called Assorted Airchecks, and boy do I regret doing that today!

What is history in radio? It's the newscasts that will often give clues to the date it was recorded, along with new music, and of course the DJ presenting it all. As I convert these tapes today that I got from other aircheck collectors, many of these tapes don't have dates, or incomplete dates. Those may have just a month and year, or a month and day. So some detective work is needed, and that's where newscasts come into play. All I need is a major news story, sports scores or concerts. 

A quick internet search will often give results quite quickly. Concert dates may not always line up exactly, so guesswork is sometimes the only way to go.

I would say that 90% of the time, I properly labeled my tapes with call letters, frequency, DJ name, and a complete date. When I convert a tape now and save it, I include all of that information in the file name.

Last year, my friend Richie in Albany, NY gave me a plastic tub of cassettes, and many of them didn't have complete dates. UGH! When I was finally done converting them, I called him and admonished him for leaving out such critical information. I asked him "WHY?" and his response was, "I don't know." 

What exactly is converting an audio tape to digital? Cassettes are the easiest to do because they have fixed times, with the most common being 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Then there are the oddball lengths such as 10 or 30 minute tapes. 

The most troublesome tapes were the old Ampex cassettes with the brown/tan labels. Who knew at the time that 40 years later they would squeal like a greased pig? What to do? Step one was surgery, transferring the tape into a new shell, and then baking it for a couple of hours. With any luck, I could then get one good play with no squealing.

What is baking a tape? It's putting the tape into a convection toaster oven, or a food hydrator and letting the heat bond the layers of the tape back together. There's more science to it, but I'm not going to explain it here. I used to use a regular toaster oven, but that was slower and couldn't accommodate a 10" reel. So at the suggestion of a couple of friends, I bought a 5 level food hydrator. I'll set it for about 120 degrees, set a timer on my phone and walk away. 

I load them in my trusty Denon dual cassette deck, set the levels in Adobe Audition, and let them fly. I'll often do one or two sets of tapes during the day, and maybe one overnight so I'll have something to work on the next day.

I have a friend who saves them as 320 mps MP3 files, but I save then at a lower bit rate, 192 mps MP3 files. I truly believe that most of us can't tell the difference with our older ears. I have other friends that save them as .wav or .flac files which are lossless files.

Having had two hard drive losses over the years, I now have 3 hard drives at home, an automated cloud back up, and a friend in Florida that I send all my digital files to. Previously, he sent me hard drive that I filled up with everything I had digitized at the time, and now send him new files as I convert them. This way I will never, ever lose anything again.

So how exactly do I do digital transfers? All my equipment goes into a Mackie mixing board, which is plugged into my computer. I have 3 dual cassette decks, a Sony DAT machine, Akai 7" reel to reel, Otari 10" reel to reel, a Sony MD and an ITC cart deck. 

I use Adobe Audition 3.0 that captures the audio, and allows me to do any sort of editing needed, such as hiss reduction, equalization, and noise reduction. Remember how we used to use a razor blade, editing block and tape to edit reel tapes, and repair cassettes? AA 3.0 does the same thing, but faster and easier with digital editing. 

Big Apple Airchecks offers it's services to radio folks that have tapes sitting around, and have no idea what to do with them.